The African SAcred Ibis~! by kimariehere
Open full image in new tab Members remain the original copyright holder in all their materials here at Renderosity. Use of any of their material inconsistent with the terms and conditions set forth is prohibited and is considered an infringement of the copyrights of the respective holders unless specially stated otherwise.
No AI - This artwork was created entirely by hand or with traditional digital tools.
Description
Hello All!
I shot this bird when in SanDiego last month... While we were there we visited to the San Diego wild animal park. My daughter was sick that day so I didn't get all that many shots in, as we had to leave. But I did like it there cause it is all natural free roaming habitat unlike Zoos.. Harder to capture the birds and animals than Zoos, because they have free roam.
To shoot this guy I had to climb through a narrow revine that I nearly got stuck in LOL (step over the gaurd rail., and climb up the rocks ). I snuck up on him and got fairly close before her flew off ..I wasn't sure what he was but did some research and found out..
Heres a little of what I found out about this strange looking bird!!:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is the African sacred Ibis, - named due to it being worshiped as a God in ancient Egypt
Sacred ibises are native to Africa and Madagascar. Part of the group of medium-sized wading birds, they are 30 inches in length with bills which are long, thin and strongly down-curved; and their faces are without feathers. They are gregarious birds, traveling and breeding in flocks. They fly with their necks straight out in front and their long legs trailing behind, alternately flapping and soaring.
These birds inhabit shores and marshes and feed on amphibians, insects, insect larvae, and other small aquatic animals. They feed by touch, not sight, as an adaptation to the muddy waters. Nests are formed on the ground in papyrus thickets or bushes or in trees. Three to four eggs are laid. The chicks have dark plumage and are fledged in 5 - 6 weeks.
Ibises are an ancient group of birds: their fossil record goes back 60 million years. Their record in human history goes back 5,000 years. The ancient Egyptians venerated the Sacred Ibis and made it an integral part of their religion and of their written hieroglyphics. To them it was the god Thoth (the scribe to the gods), so Thoth was pictured with the head of an ibis. In Egypt today the sacred ibis is very rare; it is common only in Africa south of the Sahara. They have not been bred in Egypt since the first half of the nineteenth century.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Forgive me for getting behind in comments , My teen has been on doing her reports, and then Mike has been doing stuff for his teaching requirements.. so I have to squeeze on in late at night..LOL
Thanks for all your time and comments-you all have been so good to me and are so dear to my heart!!
BIG hugs!
♥
Kimmers!

Comments (56)
Super shot, he looks so human, almost like dressed in an overcoat. So well composed!
Superbe.
lol, he is a cool character. a wonderful and fascinating shot. great light. excellent photography and presentation,Kim.* vote * #:O)
Splendid photograph! One of the species in the process of disappearance!!!*****!!!
Never heard of this bird sis But he is very impressive looking Great capture Had my 2nd treatment today still so very weak plz keep me in your thoughts and prayers Vote hugs n love Susan~
What a strange looking bird! So let me get this straight, you climbed over the guard rail at the wild animal park, climbed up some rocks and almost got stuck, and dealt with a sick child just to get this shot? Now that's real dedication to one's art, the results seem to be well worth it. Great job!! (Thanks for the info about him)
Wow!!excellent shot my dear friend agree with romanceworks and other artists ,really Splendid photograph ,you are very talented artist!!!VOTE
WOW..Wonderful shot Kim. What an interesting looking bird and great facts..Excellent!!
nice character dorling semes to be prehistorical nice shot
It's a good thing you didn't go to all that trouble only to end up with a cr*& shot then...:) Excellent capture of this strange but proud looking bird.
A strange bird..I had never seen a Sacred Ibis! Interesting looking bird..Great shot Kim! :)
a strange looking bird . very good shot of him
I think calling him 'strange' is an understatement!He looks downright bizarre!Almost like something from some Hollywood studio wearing a big black coat!What a capture,Kim!Well worth every scrape and step!I love it.-M :)
Nice Kimmers! I posted one of these a couple of weeks ago in my gallery. This one looks more active than the one I took...mines was quite passive. But none the less and extaordinary shot! Aloha!
First time i see one! Thank you for sharing! Enjoy your day!
How beautiful! I love his beak. Very stately bird.
Cool capture and bird!!!Xlent photo!!!
Kim...outstanding capture and presentation.....V
He seems to be wise. (and well dressed. Is that Armani?) I can't imagine where that beak goes...I am sure he eats well. Cool shot!
fabulous and gorgeous capture! so funny how he is standing there, like a professor! and the whole scene seems to be a scene out of a fairy tale of animals! ;o)
He does look like a bird you would see in a fantasy movie like LOTR or something...but he is real and Kimmie found him!! Bravo hon!! Excellent shot and such intersting info about him. I've never seen anything like this bird! My first thought when scrolling down was like so many above... this is part bird/part human... a man who has metamorphosized into a bird creature!! lol It's that face! Amazing!! VOTE* and to favs!
Weird looking bird, never seen one before! Love your compo here ... well worth the effort to get your shot
Wow, love this image, very well done!
WOW... have never seen a bird like this! An excellent capture, Kimmers!
Original and beautiful !!!
strange bird, stunning foto! =)